fall of the avengers
by Spooksdarkhero
Summary: a simple 'what if' story about how and what would have happened if all the avengers had failed and died. Character Deaths aplenty here.


_**Fall of the Avengers**_

_Black Widow_

Natasha stalked down the halls trying to not to make a sound and give her presence away. She knew what she was about to face was not going to be easy so why make is any easier.

Clint was heading for the cell that Loki was being held in. She slowly moved towards him, creeping up as he walked forward and then all at once he spun around and let loose an arrow in her direction. If Natasha was anything less than brilliant at her job she would have been on the fall dead with an arrow in between her eyes but she was not called the Black Widow for nothing. She jumped of its way and dodged the second one as she crashed into Clint.

Natasha barely had time to notice Clint's eyes where new a bright blue before he engaged her in hand to hand combat. This was not going to be easy, they had often fought and trained together with their matches ending in a stalemate and this time the loser was not going to buy the first round of beers.

It was a cramped space to fight in forcing them to fight in close combat. Natasha was just trying to knock him out while he was trying to kill her giving him a slight advantage as he could do any move or trick he wanted to beat her. Still she had managed to take his bow away from him but he had merely pulled a knife and slashed at her. Still she was used to this, used to fighting men bigger and tougher than her and she knew how to defend herself but it did not make it any easier fighting Barton.

Barton grabs Romanoff's hair and pulls, exposing her neck to his dagger. It was edging ever closer to her neck so Natasha decided to play dirty. Romanoff sinks her teeth into his arm and he lets go yelling in pain. Not wasting any time she spins around holding him forcing him to follow her in the move and throwing Barton into the railing… he was meant to hit it head first he didn't.

Instead Barton grabbed the railing with his hands and kicked out his legs knocking her to the ground. He was on her in a second with the knife. Natasha struggled and tried to move but it was no use as Clint was too heavy to move. The knife sunk lower and lower to her chest. Natasha looked directly into Clint's eyes desperate to see any trace of him was in them. He had to be in there somewhere. He had to stop what he was doing. But there was nothing but blue in Clint's eyes. The knife stabbed Natasha directly in her heart. She couldn't breath, couldn't think nor scream all she could do was look into Clint's eyes as she died.

Clint Barton checked that Natasha Romanoff was dead and slowly got back onto his feet. He left the knife in her chance and did not even bother wiping his hands of some of her blood as he picked up his bow and arrow and carried on his way.

He left his partner on the floor alone and dead to the world.

_Hawkeye_

Loki was there standing in front of Agent Coulson who was lying against a wall bleeding to death. Loki's attention was on what Coulson was saying when Barton calmly walked up to him. Barton quickly kicked the gun that Agent Coulson was holding onto out of his hands. Loki then turned to Barton noticing his appearance and the blood on his hands.

"Everything alright?" Loki asked pointing to Barton's bloody nose.

"Fine just had a run in with an old friend" Clint said calmly.

Loki smiled and his smile grew even more as an idea struck him.

"Was it Natasha Romanoff by any chance?" he asked stepping closer to Barton.

"Yes sir," Barton replied slightly puzzled at the fact his master knew this fact.

"Ah good!" Loki sneered. "It means I get to keep my promise to her!"

Loki pushed his sceptre onto Barton's chest and Barton gasped. He felt everything Loki had poured into him fade away. He felt Loki's control pour out of him and Barton's vision cleared. He was back to being Hawkeye again.

Clint for a second remembered nothing but then it all came flooding back. In a rush he could see and feel every second of what he had done under Loki's control. He let out a gasp as he remembered what he had just done to Natasha. The blood pouring out of her wound, her body dead on the ground but more importantly he remembered the look in her eyes as she died. Natasha used to be able to never give anything away with her eyes. Used to be able to lie with them or hide behind them. But there was no hiding this, she was afraid and she was dying. He, Clint had done this to her.

"No! Natasha!" Clint screamed unable to fully believe it. He had killed her and failed her. He promised her a better life all those years ago when he was sent to kill her and it had all been a lie. She was dead because of him and Loki… _Loki _Barton's mind scream. He had been on his way to get Loki. Barton was going to make that man or god whatever he was pay. He was going to kill him.

"You son of a bitch! You did this! You killed her!" Barton screamed raising his bow but Loki swung his sceptre at Barton's head causing Clint to stumble back and fall down. The blow stunned Barton as Loki grabbed Barton round his neck and bought his lips to Barton's ear.

"No agent Barton you killed her!" Loki snarled at Barton "You knew how and where most painfully to strike her and you did it. My hands are clean of blood yours are dripping! All I did was sharpen your arrows for you, you're the one who fired them and never forget that!"

Loki with an almost simple twist of his hands snapped Clint Barton's neck and let his body drop to the floor. Loki laughed at the now dead body of Agent Coulson and walked casually out of the room. Things were all falling into place for Loki and things had fallen apart for the Avengers.

_Thor_

Thor spun and crashed helplessly around in the glass box unable to stand or get a grip of anything. He growled as his body became bruised with the knocks he was taking. He had once again fallen for one of his brother's simple tricks. Once again he rushed into battle without pausing to study it first. If he had only paused for a moment he might have seen past Loki's mischief. "Are you ever not going to fall for that?" Loki had mocked at him when he had locked the glass box trapping Thor inside. Was Thor truly maturing as a warrior? He seemed to be making the same mistakes he always did.

Loki's grin had been so smug and so wide as he let Thor plummets to the ground. How could his brother have changed into such a monster? They had played together, grew up together and now where fighting on different sides against one another.

Not even Odin, his father could help him for he had used his power to send Thor here on earth. Thor was on his own. This would not be his death. Thor imagined his death in a glorious battle, one that would last days and with entire armies laid waste by his hammer and might. He would die defending his home and die side by side with his friends. He was not meant to die trapped in a box and alone. That was not a death fitting for Thor the god of lighting.

He had so much unfinished business with earth, with its people or rather with one person in particular. Jane, he wished he could see her now or at least let her know that it maybe possible for him to travel to earth once more. He had much to show her, he had planned and dreamt of taking her to Asgard and show her the stars the way he sees them. He had much to tell her, he promised he would return and if he had to move worlds and fight a hundred battles he would tell her those three words of how he felt about it.

He swung the Mjolnir, his hammer again and yes this time the glass cracked. Ever so slightly but where is a one crack on glass soon there will be another. Thor finally managed to brace himself inside the spinning cell and moved slightly until he was directly facing the crack he had just made. Thor will survive this. He will face Loki in battle and stop him from ruling earth and answer to for his crimes. The ground was rushing towards him, this was going to be close.

Thor gritted his teeth and jumped with all his might aiming at the cracked class… it was not enough. The glass box containing Thor the god of lighting smashed onto the rocks of a beach. The box broke into a thousands pieces and Thor… his body was broken too. For while he was a god he could not even survive a fall like that. Thor, son of Odin who one day was to become ruler of Asgard was dead. Killed by his brother Loki. Killed defending earth.

_Iron man_

The Captain and Stark put aside their differences when they heard of the deaths of Coulson, Clint, Natasha and the disappearance of Thor. They had to make this team and idea of the Avengers work… what was left of them and it. It was on them now. The pair raced to New York, Stark in his damaged suit getting there first. Loki was at Stark's tower waiting for him full of pride at all he had done on the carrier. For once Stark was without his quips and jokes, the full weight of the situation and the deaths playing greatly on his mind.

Loki enjoyed seeing this. Laughing at Stark, mocking him for even daring to think that he and his friends ever had a chance against him and promising to do to Stark what he had done to Barton… a painful death before throwing Stark out of the window of his very own tower. Luckily Stark was saved by the latest suit of armour that he was working on which prevented him from landing on the pavement. But it was too late the portal was open and Loki's army was already flying into earth's sky. Stark flew to greet them using his weapons against them.

Stark dodged, ducked and flew around the flying ships engaging them in straight combat. The more they fired at him the less they fired at anyone else. Then he saw it, a massive ship or living thing he couldn't tell and wasn't really keen to find out. He could see soldiers jumping off it's back and onto buildings. The fight had just gotten a lot harder and it had only just begun.

Firing a missile at whatever that alien thing was he got it's attention as it turned around and started following him. Flying around the Captain radioed him to say that Banner had arrived on the scene. Good finally a bit of luck on their side, Stark quickly flew to where the Captain and Banner where standing with the alien closely following him.

With one punch the Hulk crippled and destroyed it but there was little time for celebrations as Loki's army was swarming everywhere over the city. Iron man took to the skies again was busy attacking and attracting the attention of Loki's army. His suit taking some heavy hits as he was constantly followed by ships firing at him. He could have really done with a wingman or someone to help cover him but there was no one around to help him.

Stark's mind kept racing back to the words Rogers yelled at him a few hours ago in the Laboratory.

Rogers: "…The only thing you really fight for is yourself. You're not the guy to make the sacrifice play, to lay down on a wire and let the other guy crawl over you."

Stark: I think I would just cut the wire.

Rogers: Always a way out. You know, you may not be a threat, but you better stop pretending to be a hero

Maybe he was right about him. Stark knew he could be a cocky git at times, hell he enjoyed it kept the people around him on their toes but he had built his suit to help people. He had not built it because he was bored one day and wanted a new shiny toy but because he had seen his weapons being used in the wrong hands and wanted to make sure that such a thing never happened again. Instead he just seemed to attract more trouble.

_His _suit took more and more hits as more and more aliens fired upon Stark. One shot sent him crashing to the ground below. Stark had time to look up as the ground forces began to pummel him to death. Battered, bruised and with no more toys or weapons to deploy to defend himself Stark could do nothing. It made him think that maybe Rogers was right about him… before he died.

_Captain America_

New York was already suffering the affects of the invasion by the time Rogers made it there. Streets where shot up, buildings broken and people were fleeing for their lives. He had never been in this situation before where a city such as this one was to the battlefield. It was a daunting experience even for Captain America.

He quickly got to work at the job in hand and battled the alien forces he encountered on the ground. Fighting hand to hand with them he did not have time to get to the group of police he saw firing helplessly a couple of blocks away. The Captain was simply too busy fighting his own battle than help organise theirs. But nonetheless he was able to take down many forces and at least allow himself some breathing space when they retreated and regroup.

Breathing deeply trying to catch his breath. He could feel one or two of his muscles already cry out at the abuse he was asking them to take. Steve gritted his teeth and willed himself to walk towards Dr Banner who was approaching him on a motorcycle. Stark then came into view being closely followed by the largest and most unusual flying creature Rogers had ever seen in his life. Dr Banner turned and transformed into the Hulk killing the creature with a single blow to the head. All it took was one punch, maybe things were not so helpless after all.

Just as soon as it had been the three of them standing there the Hulk, Iron man and Captain America, Rogers was now back to being on his own fighting the alien ground forces again. Rogers had told Stark to take to the skies to attack the aliens flying on ships and whatever those creatures were. With the Hulk Rogers had given it a simple order.

"Hulk smash!"

The Hulk seem to understand, it even smiled at Rogers before leaping to the nearest building.

Rogers was having to use every fighting technique he had ever learnt, every skill that he had picked up and all his strength to fight off his attackers. He had never been in a fight this out numbered and this desperate maybe even hopeless. Still it was none the less fight for good and that is all Rogers ever wanted to do. Be part of the fight and fight for good.

The Captain was outnumbered and over whelmed by the numbers. It was hopeless, the ground forces where too many and Rogers was only one man. For every alien he killed, 4 more took it's place. He may be stronger, faster and tougher than any mortal man but he was still a mortal man. He could still get injured, break his bones and bleed. Things might be different if he was not on his own. If he had others to help him like maybe Thor it might have been a different story but the Captain was surrounded. A shot to the stomach forced him on the ground and knocking the wind out of him. With no one there to cover Captain America as he lay on the ground, no one to defend him the aliens fired at him again and again. Captain America, a symbol of an old fashioned idea was shot to death on the streets of New York. He would not be rising from the dead again this time.

_The Hulk_

Banner knew what he was doing when he was riding to the heart of the battle. The buildings that where on fire, cars that were but he was not prepared for was what awaited him just Steve aka Captain America.

"Where are the others?" Banner asked Steve.

Steve looked downcast and already beaten. "Natasha Romanoff and Clint Barton are dead. Thor… we don't know." Steve looked at Banner dead in the eye. "Stark, yourself and me are all that is left Dr."

Banner nodded suddenly looking as defeated as he suddenly felt. He turned when he saw what appeared to be both an massive alien creature following the tiny dot that was Iron man approaching them.

Dr Bruce Banner willed himself to change, to become the very thing he feared most in the world… The Hulk. For Banner knew that this was what he had to do.

Within minutes The Hulk after killing that alien creature was leaping from building to building crushing and destroying all soldiers that he met along the way. The Hulk was carnage, chaos and brunt force all rolled into one green man. The Hulk smashed and crashed his way around the battle, never pausing for breath or slowing down to save his energy. He was a force of nature cutting a massive path of destruction in his wake. The alien forces were at first unprepared for such a foe. There methods at first were useless and hopeless as battling such a creature like the Hulk caught them by surprise.

But surely and slowly things began to change. With both Iron man and Captain America now dead the alien forces could focus their firepower on the Hulk. Even a creature as strong and as powerful as the Hulk had its limits.

The Hulk knew that if he were to change back into Banner he would not survive. Even a creature as simple minded as it knew this so it was forced to remain as the Hulk and endure the punishment it was receiving.

Then the Hulk saw something out of the corner of its eye. He strained to see what it was but it was coming towards him quickly. It recognised it as a missile, the Hulk knew what they were as so many had been used to try and kill him before.

But what the Hulk did not know was that this missile was a nuclear one. Sent against the orders of Nick Fury in the hope of closing the portal and stopping the invasion. Yes hundreds of innocent people would be killed in the blast but the needs of the many out weight the needs of the few.

The Hulk drew its final breath before the missile, all it ever wanted was to be alone and find peace but even its death was full of hate, pain and destruction. The missile hit and New York was engulfed in a giant explosion. The Hulk, the last of the Avengers died just like its team mates trying to defend earth.

None of the Avengers lived to see if the invasion was stopped thanks to the missile… none of the Avengers lived to see that it did not.

Fin


End file.
